The present invention relates to a stop lamp which is referred to as xe2x80x9chigh mount stop lampxe2x80x9d and arranged on an inner surface of a panel of a rear window of vehicles.
A conventional stop lamp has been disclosed in, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,241,457. This stop lamp comprises a substrate, a plurality of LED chips, connection wires, a transparent resin member, a transparent resin molded member, and a lens. The LED chips function as a light source. The LED chips are arranged in one or two rows so as to be better viewed from a rear side of a vehicle.
It is an object of the present invention to provide an automotive stop lamp which has wide light emitting area, which ensures rear visibility and which requires fewer parts.
The stop lamp according to the present invention comprises a substrate having a plurality of openings, an arrangement for fixing to an inner surface of a panel of a rear window of the vehicle, and a surface that faces towards the panel, a plurality of LED chips arranged in an array on the surface of the substrate, at least one connecting wire arranged on the substrate and which electrically connects the LED chips to one another, and a cover made of transparent synthetic resin and which covers the LED chips.
According to the above aspect, therefore, since a plurality of LED chips are arranged in an array, the light emitting area of the stop lamp is larger than that of the conventional automotive stop lamp which has the plurality of LED chips arranged in one or two rows and the visibility of the stop lamp improves, accordingly. Further, according to the above aspect, it is possible to visually recognize the rear through the plurality of openings which are formed in the substrate. Therefore, even if the light emitting area of the stop lamp is large and the stop lamp is arranged on the indoor-side surface of the rear window, rear visibility is not deteriorated but is ensured. Furthermore, according to the above aspect, the plurality of LED chips which are arranged on the substrate are covered with the covering member which is made of a transparent synthetic resin material. Therefore, it is unnecessary to provide a housing and a lens. Compared with the conventional automotive stop lamp which requires the housing (resin molded member) and the lens, the number of parts is decreased and it is possible to greatly reduce manufacturing cost.
Other objects and features of this invention will become apparent from the following description with reference to the accompanying drawings.